By Staff Reporter |
A former leader of a fraternity at Northern Arizona University (NAU) will serve two months in jail for the hazing that resulted in the death of a pledge earlier this year.
Coconino County Superior Court sentenced Carter Thomas Eslick, 20, to two months in jail and three years of supervised probation on Wednesday.
Conditions of his probation include creating and delivering 305 anti-hazing presentations, and maintaining sobriety.
That amount of jail time is a fraction of the mitigated sentencing attached to the charge Eslick originally faced.
Eslick was indicted for felony hazing in March, a class four offense which carries a sentence range of one to nearly four years in prison. Eslick had originally pleaded not guilty to the charge but later amended his plea to guilty in August as part of a plea deal which left jail time up to the court’s discretion.
Eslick was the new member educator, or pledge master, for the Theta Omega chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity at NAU. In that role, Eslick oversaw the activities that resulted in the alcohol poisoning that killed 18-year-old Colin Daniel Martinez on Jan. 31, 2026.
Martinez and three fellow Delta Tau Delta pledges were forced to consume vodka until they vomited as part of a “Spring Rush ’26” party at an off-campus Delta Tau Delta house. “Rush” refers to the fraternity recruitment process for new members.
Records reflect that Martinez was choking and gagging in his sleep, and that nobody present at the house called emergency services for nearly six hours.
Martinez had a blood alcohol level of 0.425%. Any level over 0.40% is considered potentially fatal, while levels from 0.30% to 0.40% are considered alcohol poisoning and potentially life threatening. The legal limit for driving in Arizona is 0.08%. An autopsy confirmed Martinez died from alcohol poisoning.
In addition to Eslick, fellow Delta Tau Delta chapter leaders Ryan Wiley Creech and Riley Michael Cass, both 20, were arrested. Neither Creech nor Cass were indicted; court records reflect that both of their cases were closed within days of their arrests.
The national Delta Tau Delta organization closed the NAU chapter following Martinez’s death.
Martinez’s father, Chris Martinez, told the court during sentencing that his son died for a lack of courage among the young men present that night in January.
“Courage. I use this word courage because that’s what’s required when fear, self-protection, or group loyalty or convenience tempt us to inaction instead of doing what another human being desperately needs us to do. What my son needed that night,” said Chris. “Courage that night would have meant stopping what was happening. Courage would have meant recognizing that a fraternity ritual was never more important than a human life.”
Martinez graduated from the Arizona Conservatory for Arts & Academics last May. Martinez planned to major in hotel and restaurant management at NAU, like his father. In an Instagram post, Martinez said he enjoyed photography, watching movies and sports, playing music, and collecting vinyls. Martinez also had an affection for animals, especially his pets.
Martinez is survived by his parents, Chris and Lindsey, and two sisters, Caitlyn and Malena.
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